PhD in Amsterdam School for Social Scientific Research
There are some scholarships for PhD in biomedicine/technology in this dept.contact directly:
assr@p... <assr at pscw.uva.nl> for further info.
info about Admission & Application
from http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/assr/frdocs/applic.html
Amsterdam School for Social Scientific Research
MA students & pre-dissertation students
Applications are registered twice a year and are accepted for the autumn and spring sessions. Some
10 to 12 students are admitted annually.
Application deadlines
Autumn: December 15
Spring: May 15
Applications for the PhD programme must include: a PhD research proposal, two letters of recommendation,
the student's statement of reasons for undertaking PhD study, a CV and Toefl scores (for foreign applicants, whose native
language is not English). If your pplication is accepted, your proposed research statement need not be binding, but your final
choice of research topic will have to be approved by your supervisor and the other members of your PhD committee.
Students in the Netherlands wishing to undertake PhD research may benefit from coming to to the
School to dicuss their plans in greater detail before submitting an application. If so, they are invited to contact the School
to request a preliminary interview.
The selection procedure
Every year, the Amsterdam School for Social science Research offers PhD scholarships for PhD research
in anthropology, sociology, political science or Asia studies. The scholarships are "free", which means no project description
has been drawn up in advance. Ph.D. candidates can submit their own proposals, from which the best ones will be selected.
Apart from scholarships, candidates are welcome to apply for admission to the Amsterdam School's
Ph.D. programme if they can support themselves while working on their thesis or are supported by external organizations.
Ph.D. candidates at the Amsterdam School for Social science Research are to complete their dissertation
within four years. If you wish to apply for a Ph.D. scholarship and to attend the Amsterdam School's Ph.D. programme from
March 1 or September 1 onward, please submit the following before December 15 or May 15:
* a summary of your reasons for applying for a Ph.D. research position and a short description
of your present situation and employment;
* a dissertation plan no longer than 1,600 words describing the hypothesis to
be defended or refuted and indicating the material to be consulted, the theoretical principles to be utilized, the subject's
academic importance and the feasibility of completing the dissertation in the period of time alloted; this plan is not binding
and serves mainly to illustrate your ability to plan a research project; (see guidelines)
* a curriculum vitae;
* a
list of publications or - if you are a recent graduate - a list of papers you have written;
* an official transcript of
your Master's degree examination grades;
* one or two recent articles or - if you are a recent graduate - one or two chapters
from the Master's thesis.
In addition, have two persons with a PhD in social sciences or some related field send letters
of recommendation by separate mail to the ASSR indicating whether you can be expected to complete your dissertation in four
years and the quality of the thesis you can be expected to write (if possible).
If you submit an application, you will receive a confirmation of receipt with further information
about the schedule of the evaluation process.
The application may be written in Dutch or English. Applications by
email or fax will not be
considered.
Guidelines
Your application should contain a Core Text of maximum 3,000 words in which you describe your research
plans.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITING THE THESIS PROPOSAL
(the Core Text, 3,000 words maximum for
the items 1 through 7).
1. Title of the project
2. Give a brief description of your project (16 lines).
3. The research question (1000 words in total)
1. Description of the field of study and the
existing body of knowledge with reference to that: What we don't know? What has been neglected? The central object of the
proposed research (600 words).
2. The core question. Which central question would you like to answer with the research?
How do you unfold the central question into a number of sub-questions, so that the joint answers will generate the answer
to the central question? Explanation per sub-question. (400 words for the questions, sub-questions and explanation)
4. The innovative character of the proposed project (130 words)
What is the significance of
your thesis? Does it contain an original contribution to the field? Is it of specific social or theoretical relevance?
5. Theoretical considerations (900 words)
1. Sketch of the dominant theoretical approaches
2.
Sketch of the dominant empirical and theoretical debates.
3. How does your research fit in with the present state of
research
and theoretical discussions in your field? Which scholars in
your field do you find especially relevant to your work?
6. Proposition, hypotheses and concepts.
1. What is the central proposition?
2. Which are
the working hypotheses
3. What are the main theoretical concepts you intend to use
7. The data (800 words)
1. a. Describe the empirical data, i.e. the sources, to be used for
answering the research questions.
2. b. How do you intend to gather your data? Do you have whatever permission might be
required? Have the necessary informants agreed to cooperate? Do you have access to the archives you need?
8. Organisational context
1. Is your project related to the work of teachers, PhD students or
programme objectives of the Amsterdam School?
2. Which staff members would you like to have as members of your supervision
committee during your first year in the PhD programme?
3. Who will write letters of recommendation?
9. List your publications that are relevant to the project.
10. Provide a short and provisional bibliography
11. What is the proposed time schedule for the activities you propose?
12. If applicable: How do you intend to support yourself while working on your thesis?
13. If applicable: Draw up a budget of the expenses your research will require. How are these funds
to be provided?
14. Which of the courses you have taken, what previous employment and other experience is relevant
to an assessment of your ability to successfully complete the proposed project? Mention references, if any.
Provide concise and clear answers, based on the ideas and information you have now. If and when
new data become available, you may have other ideas and of course your plans may change accordingly preliminary course of
study.
Consideration of applications
The applications will be subjected to a preliminary screening. The candidates selected during this
first round will be invited for an interview. If they reside abroad, their application will be evaluated by the selection
committee in a plenary session. The final decisions will be made shortly after the interviews and deliberation in the committee.
Applications will be judged on the basis of the minimum admission requirements, a short proposal
outlining the intended research and reference letters from scholars.
Minimum admission requirements
Candidates entering the PhD programme should have completed a Master's degree (such as an MA) at
an accredited university. The Master's degree should have been completed with a high grade. Persons educated outside the Netherlands
are eligible to pursue a doctorate, to participate in the PhD training programme and to receive an ASSR PhD scholarship provided
they are granted exemption from the legal Dutch educational MA requirement. If the candidate's foreign education makes him
or her eligible to pursue a PhD degree in that same country, such exemption will be easy to obtain. Otherwise, the candidate
must provide proof that satisfies the Doctorate Board (College van Promoties) that he or she may be regarded as capable of
the independent pursuit of a PhD. Such proof may consist of a current university function or other professional position,
publications, and so forth.
It is advisable to start the exemption-procedure only when you've passed the first selection round
and after consultation with the Amsterdam School.
All foreign candidates applying to the ASSR are required to demonstrate sufficient proficiency
in English to enrol in the ASSR PhD program. A PhD student can prove that he/she has sufficient English language ability by
submitting a TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge score that meets the minimum ASSR requirements. The only condition by which a non-native
foreign speaker of English may be exempted from the proficiency test requirement is if the student has studied for a minimum
of two years at a university-level institution where all coursework was conducted in English. If a student meets this criterion,
he or she should submit a letter sent by the university directly to the ASSR, confirming this.
TOEFLl
Students are required to have a minimum score of either 213 according to the new
notation on the computer-based test, or a minimum score of 550 according to the old notation. A score of 18 is expected on
the other TOEFL components (listening, structure/writing, and reading). Students must arrange that an official copy of the
results is sent directly by the TOEFL institute to the ASSR.
For general information contact TOEFL at email: toefl@e...
or website: www.toefl.org
IELTS
The IELTS examination is organised by the British Council at least once a month
upon request. Students are required to have a score of at least 6.5. Test scores should be sent directly by IELTS to the ASSR.
CAMBRIDGE
Students can also take one of the "English as a foreign language exams" of
the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate whose examinations are available in more than 150 countries. Students
are required to have a minimum score of A+ for the first certificate in English exam; B+ for the certificate in advanced English;
or B for the certificate of proficiency in English exam. Test scores should be sent directly to the ASSR
--
MERLYNA LIM
website: www.geocities.com/olohok_99
email: merlyn@b...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Research
Fellow Ph.D. candidate
SCoT Research Group Technology & Society Studies
Bandung University of Twente
Indonesia
Enschede - The Netherlands
